Holiday season is upon us, which means lots of parties and party outfits to plan. In case you are stumped for fun outfit ideas this year, here are my top three looks for three occasions that are super easy to pull off and that will have you looking festive this holiday season. Find these pieces at Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

1. Office Holiday Party
When dressing for your work holiday party, it’s important to err on the side of caution. Even with the ever-relaxing office dress codes, you don’t want to be the subject of office gossip the day after the big event. As such, put away that lame mini dress, and grab that trusty LBD instead. To dress up your look, put on some statement jewelry, throw your essentials into a sequined clutch, and wear the cutest shoes you’ve got. This look is all about accessories, so choose yours wisely.

2. Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
This one’s pretty much impossible to screw up. Obviously, the key piece in your ensemble will be the Ugly Christmas Sweater (and there are a ton to choose from out there), but don’t dismiss the rest of your outfit! To make your look really stand out, put on a pair of reindeer ears or a Santa hat, wear some red and white striped tights, and a sequined skirt instead of jeans – the tackier the better. You’ll be the life of the party in no time.

3. New Year’s Eve Party
They say the way you spend NYE is the way you’re going to spend the rest of the year, so for me, the sparklier my party outfit, the sparklier the upcoming year…questionable logic, I know…but just go with it. With that in mind, sequins, lame, glitter, embroidery, and bright colours are all fair game. I am particularly fond of stars, so this sequined frock paired with the silveriest boots ever are just what the doctor prescribed. You can’t tell here, but I also sprayed my hair with silver glitter hairspray from Shoppers, because if not on NYE, when else can you have glitter in your hair without judgment?!

Our annual Style Days of Christmas giveaways are nearing the end, but there’re still 2 more awesome prizes to be won! Today’s giveaway is a $200 gift card from Yorkdale Shopping Centre – the home of Fashion Santa, and my own personal favourite place to shop in Toronto. It truly is a one-stop shop for all your holidays needs – from CHANEL, to H&M, to Zara Home, to AllSaints…just like a Stefon sketch – Yorkdale has EVERYTHING! And this holiday season, one of our lucky readers will win the $200 gift card to spend on whatever their heart desires!

In the meantime, make sure to stop by Yorkdale for a selfie with Fashion Santa (between Harry Rosen and Hudson’s Bay). For every selfie posted to social media using the hashtag #YorkdaleFashionSanta, Yorkdale will donate $1 to Sick Kids Foundation (up to $10,000). Trust me, you don’t want to miss a chance to hang out with the handsome Paul Mason – he’s the dreamiest Santa I know.

Canada Day is around the corner and this year we wanted to showcase some of the wonderful Canadian brands available at Yorkdale. Some, like HBC Collection are iconic and can be found in many Canadian homes, while others like Erin Kleinberg and ela handbags are less mainstream, but nevertheless deserve your attention.

If you did a quick glance inside your wardrobe, how many Canadian brands would you find there? Adding just a few more Canadian pieces to your wardrobe every now and then would help support local brands and designers, while promoting Canadian fashion industry in general. So many designers have to leave the country in order to find popularity, and it’s really sad, because the talent is all here, we just need to help nourish it.

So next time you’re looking for a work outfit, skip your fave fast-fashion retailer and consider picking up a few well-made items from Judith & Charles or Pink Tartan (avail at Holt Renfrew). Instead of buying a “designer” purse, invest in a timeless bag by ela or Mackage (avail at Holt Renfrew and Mendocino). Buy a stunning Dean Davidson (avail at Holt Renfrew) or Jackson Rowe (avail at Mendocino) jewelry piece that you’ll keep forever, or a trendy Brave leather belt (available at Mendocino) that will go with all of your outfits.

I’m not saying that you should avoid all non-Canadian brands, but with so many amazing local designers, adding a few more Canadian pieces to your wardrobe should be a breeze. And what better time to start than Canada Day?

Share your fave Canadian designers in the comments, and HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Ever since Forever 21 opened their new store at Yorkdale, I’ve been obsessed! Huge selection spread out across the 27,000 square foot boutique – what’s not to love?! Well, last month, I got to check out the brand’s plus size collection, aimed at the curvy girl who loves trendy clothes. While most fashion-forward brands don’t carry plus sizes, Forever 21 + collection goes up to size 3X, and carries a wide selection of cool girl essentials season after season. On the latest episode of Styled By Nelia, I helped Andria to incorporate a few key trends for the upcoming summer season.

Joggers
While skinny jeans are a staple for many curvy girls, wearing tight jeans in the summer may not be the best idea, which is why I am such a huge fan of tailored joggers. These versatile pants come in a variety of prints and fabrics, can be dressed up or down, oh, and the super comfy stretchy waistband doesn’t hurt either! If you’re looking for a cool alternative to your trusty jeans, give these pants a try.

All White Everything
White on white is a huge trend this year, and is a fashionable way to keep summer heat at bay. Curvy girls can get in on the trend by choosing figure-flattering silhouettes, loose layers, and a mix of shades of white for a fresh and fashionable look.

Boho
This trend is a summer staple, and is the easiest to incorporate into your wardrobe. Pick up a brightly-printed maxi dress, a fringed caftan thrown over a pair of flared jeans, or a flower-child crochet lace top…your options are limitless!

So tell me, do you love Forever 21 + selection at Yorkdale? What’s your fave trend for the summer? Share in the comments!

I’ve written about the fun new Design Lab collection back in March, and now that it’s finally warm enough to wear floral rompers, lace dresses, and fringed slips, Hudson’s Bay wants to invite you all to check out the collection in person! On May 9, join some of Canada’s top fashion bloggers (and little old me) at Hudson’s Bay Yorkdale to celebrate warm weather, cute clothes, and Design Lab!

Come for a fun shopping afternoon with your girlfriends, and stay for the delicious candy bar, foil tattoos, YSL touch ups, and a braid hair bar! Who What Wear will be at the event, snapping pics of the most stylish attendees, and there will also be an amazing giveaway of a $1500 gift card to spend on your own Design Lab summer wardrobe. Sounds like fun? Come and hang out with us next Saturday!

I had so much fun live-tweeting The Golden Globes with you that I’m doing it again! This time, I’ll be taking over Yorkdale’s Twitter account to live-tweet The Oscars 2015! If you plan on tuning in for red carpet arrivals and the show, make sure to tweet with me (@YorkdaleStyle) using hashtag #YorkdaleOscars, and you’ll be entered to win one of three Yorkdale gift cards! Winners will be selected at 11:00pm EST, and I will announce their names at the end of the show at 11:30pm EST.

Have lots of opinions on celeb style? Love Neil Patrick Harris? Want to know where you can find a red carpet dress lookalike? Tune in this Sunday, and let’s watch The Oscars together!

Twitter Account to Follow: @YorkdaleStyle Hashtag to Use to Qualify: #YorkdaleOscars Live-Tweeting from 6pm-11:30pm EST Prize: Win one of three $50 Gift Cards Winners will be drawn at 11:00pm EST

It may be frigid and snowy outside, but love is in the air! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, my fellow Yorkdale Style Council member Julio and I are sharing our personal love stories with you. And we want you to do the same!

Because here at Yorkdale we are so in love with love, we are excited to announce an amazing giveaway for all the lovebirds out there! Share your love story on Yorkdale.com (comment section of THIS post), and you’ll be entered to win TWO $250 Yorkdale gift cards – one for you and one for your love! Sounds good? Don’t forget to enter before February 13th!

Nelia and Rob

How we metNelia: The way Rob and I met is a little crazy, and really made me believe in destiny (STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES!). Fresh out of university, I turned down an interview with one financial institution as I had already accepted an offer elsewhere. But after a couple of weeks of training, I realized that the type of work they had to offer just wasn’t for me, so I called the HR person at the company I turned down, who was very understanding and booked me in for an interview. Rob was the person who interviewed me. It’s going to sound crazy, but for me, it was love at first sight…or maybe attraction at first sight, but I just felt that spark. After the interview, I considered asking Rob out and declining the job offer, but at the end of the day, I ended up accepting it and chickening out on the whole “ask him out” thing. Within the first week at my new job, I got transferred out of Rob’s team and he was no longer my boss…phew! We became friends and nearly a year after that interview he asked me out, and we’ve been together ever since. If I hadn’t changed my mind about that job, and stayed at the first company, we may have never even met. Feels like it was meant to be.

DittoNelia:While on vacation in San Francisco, we spent a beautiful day exploring the city. Spring flowers were blooming, the sun was shining and I still remember that feeling of pure joy all day long. We’ve been together for nearly a year at that point, and during dinner, Rob looked at me and said “I love you”…I was so nervous, I mumbled “ditto” in return, but could obviously tell that it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. Truth is, I’ve never actually said “I love you” to a boyfriend before Rob, so it felt like a huge deal to me at the time. The next day, as we were getting ready for another day of fun, I finally got up the courage to say “I love you” properly. To this day, “ditto” is the way I tell Rob that I love him too.

Julio and Daniel

How we metDaniel: Julio and I are a testament to romance in the age of social media. We actually met on Instagram via a mutual friend. I asked him out via Twitter DM. We always laugh when we tell people our story because no one believes us at first!Julio: We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary on February 1st. Daniel likes to argue that our anniversary is earlier, but February 1st stuck with some encouragement aka my decision.

Instagram EngagementDaniel: Well, being that I am the biggest hopeless romantic it had to be epic. I planned out the perfect day for Julio to make sure he got the engagement he deserved. I bought his favourite Tiffany’s Ring that he had always wanted, brought our photographer down to Toronto. Since we met on Instagram, I decided that I would propose via the platform as well at the first place we ever met in person. So at 11:27am (1 year to the minute from when I first asked him out) via Instagram (how we met), at Dupont Subway Station (the first place we saw each other face to face) I asked him to marry me. And lucky for me, he said yes!

Last year, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey KILLED IT at the Golden Globes. They came, they hosted, they made fun of Leonardo Di Caprio and George Clooney, they were laugh-out-loud funny and adorable, and I couldn’t get enough. This year, the dynamic duo is back to host the 71st Golden Globe Awards, and just like last year, I’ll be live-tweeting it all – the fashion, the winners and the losers, and my fave Amy and Tina moments.

This year, however, as a member of Yorkdale’s Style Council, I’ll be taking over Yorkdale’s Twitter account, and that’s not all! If you plan on watching the Globes, make sure to tweet with me (@YorkdaleStyle) using hashtag #YorkdaleGG, and you’ll be entered to win one of three Yorkdale gift cards! Winners will be selected at 10:30pm EST, and I will announce their names at the end of the show at 11pm EST.

I’ll be live-tweeting from the comfort of my couch, but I still plan on wearing something glamorous so that I can pretend that I’m actually there…I may even bust out a bottle of bubbly for the occasion. Sounds like a pretty awesome way to spend a Sunday evening. If you like the idea, join me, Amy, and Tina this Sunday, January 11th, and let’s tweet those Globes!

It’s official…2014 is out, 2015 is in! But before we move on to all things new and exciting, I wanted to do a little revisiting, in part to look back on the wonderful year that 2014 was, and in part to have this post for posterity, and in case I ever need a reminder of some awesome things I did last year. If you hate those “me, me, me” posts, then this one may not be for you. Sorry (not really).

2014 started out pretty well for me, unlike 2013 (credit card fraud galore!), I kicked off the year with a brand new video segment I created in partnership with Yorkdale and Max Kopanygin, called Styled By Nelia. Since January, we shot 9 segments, with 9 amazing retailers, and plan to shoot lots more in 2015. Since I truly hate to be on video, this was a huge challenge for me, but I got more and more comfortable with every episode we shot…and hope to get a little better with each video going forward.

In February, I had the pleasure of participating in a photoshoot for eLUXE’s Spring 2014 lookbook, featuring Canadian bloggers. And as I will find out later, this will not be the last collab with eLUXE that I would shoot in 2014.

Christmas is just around the corner, and if you’re still scrambling to pick up gifts for your loved ones, take a deep breath…it’s not too late! If you’re planning on stopping by Yorkdale to do some shopping this weekend, you should take a much-deserved break and go visit Fashion Santa this Saturday. Who’s Fashion Santa, you ask? Well, he’s the dapper bearded model Paul Mason, who was recently named one of Toronto’s Best Dressed by the Toronto Life, and he’s the adult Santa you never knew you wanted to meet.

Every Saturday in December from noon to 8 p.m. at Yorkdale, shoppers can snap #SelfiesForSickKids with Fashion Santa for $5, with proceeds going to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. You get a priceless holiday shot with the best dressed Santa ever, and do good at the same time. Win-win!

After that Fashion Santa meet and greet, you can continue with your shopping, and this season Yorkdale has launched a full suite of services designed to offer shoppers the most relaxing shopping experience possible. Check out the festive happenings after the jump! Happy Shopping![Read more…]

WHAT I WORE

WHO IS NELIA?

Nelia Belkova is a Toronto-based fashion and lifestyle blogger by night and a financial analyst by day. She loves to travel, read gossip sites, eat sweets, and cuddle up to her husband and her cat on the couch. Read More…